Q. I live in a small, professionally managed condominium association. I served on the board for two terms and during my service and the board complied with legal formalities and the governing documents. In my opinion, the current board shows disregard for applicable state laws and provisions of the condominium declaration and by-laws. I shared with the board and managing agent my concerns of its non-compliance and consequently, the board directed the association lawyer to send me a cease-and-desist demand and with threats of assessing me legal fees for communicating with the board and management. I love my condominium unit, but the other unit owners do not seem to care what is happening. What can I do?
A. First, unit owners are entitled to voice their concerns to the board and managing agent without the board being able to levy fines or legal fees against the unit owner. In fact, that First Amendment right based on the constitution was upheld in the Illinois case Boucher v. 111 E. Chestnut Condominium Association. Unit owners violating provisions of the governing documents, including noxious and offensive activities, may be an offense that subjects the owner to fines, legal fees and other remedies, but critiquing the board alone is not a valid basis for the board to send a cease-and-desist to a unit owner.
Second, if the board is, in fact, violating the provisions of the condominium governing documents and the Condominium Act, and the board refuses to stop such violations, a unit owner always has the right to file a declaratory lawsuit against the association seeking a court order to force the board to comply with applicable law and the governing documents, and/or sue individual board members for breach of fiduciary duty. A hurdle to such a lawsuit is that the legal fees are not recoverable by the unit owner even in the event the unit owner prevails in court.
Q. I am a director in a four-unit condominium association. Unfortunately, I have to handle approximately 90% of board business because the other directors barely participate. I believe I should be compensated for the time I put into serving on the board. Is this allowable under Illinois law? There is no mention of compensation in our by-laws.
A. Section 18(a)(3) of the Condominium Act states that the by-laws shall provide the amount of compensation, if any, for the directors serving on the board. Unless the by-laws provide for monetary compensation of directors, condominium board members serve on a voluntary basis without compensation. While the by-laws may contain, or be amended to provide, compensation, it should be noted that compensation for condominium board members is highly unusual and not recommended as a best practice.
Q. I am a board member in a self-managed condominium association. What is the best practice in drafting condominium board minutes and when do board meeting minutes become official?
A. Condominium board meeting minutes are customarily drafted by the secretary of the association. Minutes are meant to keep an official record of board motions and votes and include other relevant information such as the board members in attendance and the times of calling the meeting to order and adjournment. Condominium board meeting minutes should not contain a record of the discussions of the board members; however, from time to time, boards will utilize board meeting minutes to convey information to the unit ownership when there is low turnout of unit owners for board meetings.
It should be noted that board meeting minutes are commonly requested by prospective purchasers of units in the association, so board meeting minutes should be clear and concise so as to not create ambiguities or provide partial information about issues that could tarnish the association. Board meeting minutes are official after being approved at a future board meeting with a quorum by a majority of the board. Some boards post board meeting minutes in the common elements while other boards make board meeting minutes available for inspection and copying upon a written request by a unit owner pursuant to section 19 of the Condominium Act.
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